Harry Potter vs Twilight: the debate
by Ravenclaw21
Summary: As an enthusiastic participant in the Harry Potter vs Twilight debate, I decided to give some of my thoughts and responses to some of those who argue that Twilight is better than Harry Potter. This is not meant to bash Twilight fans. Actual responses to reasons begins in chapter 2.
1. Chapter 1

If you couldn't tell from my username, I am a huge fan of Harry Potter. Something else that I love is arguing and debating, especially when I have a very strong opinion on the topic. As a result, one of my favorite pass-times is taking part in the "Harry Potter vs Twilight" debate, obviously on the side of Team Potter. As such, I have decided to make a collection of the reasons I have found from various places on the internet describing why some think that Twilight is better than Harry Potter, as well as my responses to said reasons.

Before I get started, there are somethings that I would like to make clear. Firstly, I do not intend to bash those who do like the Twilight series. I firmly believe that people are entitled to their own opinions. As Voltaire stated "Think for yourselves and let others enjoy the privilege to do so too." Though I may disagree with those that find Twilight to be better than Harry Potter, that doesn't mean that they shouldn't be allowed to share their opinions without fear of others making fun of them. To use another quote, this time from Evelyn Beatrice Hall "I disapprove of what you have to say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." This, however, it a two-way street. Just as I respect the opinions of Twilight fans, I expect Twilight fans to be respectful of my opinions, as well as those held by other Harry Potter fans. Something else that I would like to make sure is clear from the outset is that I have actually read all four Twilight books and saw the first three films of the series, and was, in fact, a fan of the series during my freshmen year of high school. I feel the need to clarify this because many defenders of the Twilight series seem to be under the impression that those of use who criticize the series have never read it.

Thank you for reading these opening thoughts. I'll start providing my actual responses in the next chapter.


	2. Chapter 2:real love vs not much love

**A/N: Hi all, and welcome to the first actual installment of Harry Potter vs. Twilight. Obviously, I don't own either Harry Potter or Twilight. This is not meant to offend anyone, whether Twilight fan or otherwise. It should also be noted that practically all of these responses will contain spoilers. Thanks!**

**First of all, Twilight is about love. Real love. From what I understand, the "love" in Harry Potter isn't much. Edward would do anything for Bella. Die for her. How I see it, I know Ron and Hermionie get together, but he seems like a horrible person for her.**

You're joking, right? There "isn't much" love in Harry Potter? If you had any real understanding of Harry Potter at all, you would realize that love is arguable the most central theme in the series. The only reason Harry is even alive for the story to take place is because of the sacrifice his mother made for him out of love, a sacrifice that continues to protect him throughout the series.

There are many examples of love that are present in the series, in various forms. Let's first look at some of the many examples that pertain specifically to our protagonist. In the Philosopher's Stone, the sacrifice Harry's mother made to protect him as an infant saves him from Professor Quirrell. In the Chamber of Secrets Harry and Ron risk their lives to save Ginny Weasley out of love, as the Weasleys have become like a family to Harry. In the Prisoner of Azkaban, the love Harry has for his godfather Sirius Black, as well as the thought of being able to live with him instead of the Dursleys, gave Harry the power to produce a fully formed Patronus to drive away hundreds of Dementors and save himself and Sirius. In the Goblet of Fire, the echos of some of his dead loved ones were able to give Harry enough time for him to escape the graveyard, thus saving him from being killed by Voldemort. In the Order of the Phoenix, Harry's love for Sirius leads him to risk his life by entering the Department of Mysteries in the Ministry of Magic, where he believes that Voldemort is torturing his godfather. This love also helped Harry fight off Voldemort's attempts to possess him and gave him the strength to force Voldemort out of his mind. In the Half-Blood Prince, Harry's love for Ginny makes itself known. This love is also what led Harry to leave her so that she wouldn't be targeted by Voldemort. In the Deathly Hallows, it is out of love for his friends that leads him to sacrifice himself to Voldemort. This results in some amount of protection for Harry's allies, so that spell placed on them by Voldemort, such as Silencing Charms and a Full Body-Bind Curse, quickly ware off. In the end, it was Harry's love for all people that led him to offer Voldemort, of all people, a chance at redemption.

There are many other examples of love, in a variety of different forms, that present themselves throughout the Harry Potter series as well. The Bloody Barron's unrequited love for Helena Ravenclaw led him to take her life, before killing himself out of remorse. Cadmus Peverell tried to use the Resurrection Stone to bring back his dead lover, but was driven mad to the point of committing suicide because the "resurrection" was incomplete. Andromeda Tonks (originally Andromeda Black) went against her family's beliefs by marrying a wizard who was muggle-born, as opposed to someone who was pure-blood, because of love, which resulted in her being disinherited. It was Severus Snape's love for Lily Evans, Harry's mother, that pushed him into switching sides and joining the Order of the Phoenix, becoming a double-agent and putting himself at great personal risk. In the Half-Blood Prince, Fleur Delacour, someone believed to be rather vain and shallow until this point, insists that she still loves Bill Weasley, even though he had been horribly scarred by werewolf Fenrir Greyback. During the same part in the book, Nymphadora Tonks again insists to Remus Lupin that she loves him despite him being a werewolf, older than her, and poor. Finally, during the Battle of Hogwarts in the Deathly Hallows, Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy decide that their love for their son Draco is stronger than their loyalty to and fear of Voldemort, spurring them to look for their son instead of fighting. There are, of course, many other example of love being shown throughout the Harry Potter series.

Now that we've seen a multitude of examples of love from the Harry Potter series, let's examine the "real love" presented in Twilight. In Harry Potter, the characters that fall in love with each other and end up together get to know each other over a long span of time, and grow to mutually respect and love each other because of their personalities. In Twilight, on the other hand, the only reasons readers are really given as to why Edward and Bella are drawn to each other is that she thinks he's attractive, and he can't read her mind and her blood smells good. That is not a good basis for any sort of lasting romantic relationship, and it certainly isn't love. And, while Edward is indeed willing to die for Bella, he is also willing to stalk, manipulate and control her. On page 303 of Twilight, Edward reveals to Bella that he has been sneaking into her room, uninvited, and watching her sleep. The fact that he is willing to act in such a way, without her consent, is nothing short of disturbing, even more so when coupled with the fact that his actions don't seem to phase Bella in the slightest. Edward also makes decisions for her and controls where she goes and who she sees. In Eclipse, when Bella plans on going to see Jacob, Edward rips the engine out of her truck to prevent her from leaving. The fact that Bella puts up with behavior like this, which many would consider abuse, without even questioning it is nothing less than baffling, and to be completely honest, quite worrying. Because the relationship between Edward and Bella is so unbalanced, one could easily call into question whether or not it qualifies as love at all, let alone "real love."

Now, of course not all of the relationships in Harry Potter are healthy ones, with two examples being the Bloody Baron killing Helena Ravenclaw because she didn't return his love, and Merope Gaunt's use of a love potion to force Tom Riddle (Voldemort's father) to fall in love with her. These relationships, however, are drastically different from that of Edward and Bella in that they aren't portrayed, nor ever interpreted, as something to aspire to, but rather as something to avoid. Edward's treatment of Bella and their relationship on the other hand, is portrayed not only as something that is completely normal, but something that women should desire.

In conclusion of this point, while the Harry Potter series may not primarily focus on romance, it still has many examples of love, taking a wide variety of forms, and in fact is much better at portraying "real love" than the Twilight books.


	3. Chapter 3: Hermione vs Bella

**A/N Welcome to part 2 of the Harry Potter vs Twilight debate. This time, I'll be comparing the characters of Hermione and Bella. I don't own Harry Potter or Twilight, and this chapter contains spoilers for both, just so you know. Feel free to leave your own opinions in a review, and also let me know if there's something you think of that I might have missed or over looked. Thanks, and enjoy!**

_And while I was talking about Hermionie, here's something else. She's a week character. Unlike Bella, who struggles every day. Hermionie has no problems, the only things she has are self-created. She follows Harry into his troubles. Big whoop._

Hermione is far from weak. She gets made fun of all the time for being smart (though, yes, she can be a bit of a know-it-all at times), and she has to deal with racism constantly because she has Muggle parents. She refuses to let these things drag her down, and instead decides to prove how strong she is. In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows there is a part where she is being tortured for information, but she doesn't break; she stays strong, and doesn't give them the information that they want. And of course she helps Harry when he's in trouble, she's his friend, that's what friends do - they help each other. In fact, if Hermione hadn't been there to help Harry, they would never have been able to defeat Voldemort.

And what problems does Bella have that she has to struggle with every day? She's dating the most popular guy in school, everyone likes her, her parents, though divorced, still love her, and whenever she gets into trouble, she never has to do anything because the boys will always come to save her. When Edward leaves Bella for her own safety, she enters into an almost comatose-like mental state for months, completely ignoring her friends and family, then becomes extremely reckless by putting herself in extremely dangerous situation, such as riding off on a motorcycle with a complete stranger, and jumping off a tall cliff, just so that she can hallucinate seeing Edward. On the other hand, when Ron leaves Hermione, she doesn't let that stop her from doing what needs to be done. She continues to look for horcruxes with Harry in order to defeat Voldemort.

Hermione is an independent woman, who doesn't let other people tell her who she should be or what she can do. She is determined to find the best of herself, and to use that to help others and save the world. While, yes, she does marry Ron, she still has an identity and a purpose outside of that. In contrast, Bella's entire identity is the relationship she's in. Never is she shown to have any ambitions other than marrying Edward. Now, that's not to say that being a housewife is a bad thing, if that's what she wants. After all, Molly Weasley in Harry Potter is a housewife, but she still has an identity beyond who she's married to, whereas Bella doesn't.

In conclusion of this point, not only is Hermione not weak, she is in fact stronger than Bella, and is also a much better role model for women.


	4. Chapter 4: Heroes, Villains, and Death

**A/N: So, here's the third installment of "Harry Potter vs. Twilight: the debate." Since my responses to these next two points are shorter than my previous two, I decided that I would combine them into one chapter. This is something that I'll probably do in the future as well, since some points don't require as long responses as others. I don't own Harry Potter or Twilight, and this chapter contains spoilers for Harry Potter, though there aren't really any here for Twilight. Thanks for reading, and feel free to respond with your own thoughts and opinions, whether they're pro-Harry Potter, pro-Twilight, or neither of the two!**

_And Harry, unkile Edward, drags everyone arround him into his own problems. That's horrible for someone whose suposed to be the hero!_

Harry never drags anyone into his problems, they chose to help him because they care about him. In fact there are several times when Harry tries to tell people not to help him because he doesn't want them to get hurt, but they always decide to stick with him, even if it means they could lose their lives. They do this because that's what loved ones do for each other, they help and support one another, even when it could put them in danger. One example of this occurs in the beginning of the Deathly Hallows. In order to get Harry to a safe house, where he'll be protected from Voldemort, six of his friends drink Polyjuice Potion, which will make them look like Harry, so that they can act as decoys. When Harry hears this he responds "if you think I'm going to let six people risk their lives - !" making it clear that he doesn't people to be putting their lives at risk for his safety, but as Mad-Eye Moody insists, "they're all prepared to take the risk." This is not the first, nor the last time that this conversation occurs throughout the series, but in the end, Harry's friends are more than willing to stand by his side and help him, even if it means putting their lives at risk

_And Voldemort, he's just violent! I hear a lot of people die, who wants to read about that? I mean, people die in Twilight, but come on, those are small things readers can handle. But Harry Potter? That's just depressing._

Of course Voldemort's violent, that's why he's the villain of the series. In fact, given his racist based violence and determination to create a "pure" wizarding race, one could easily draw a comparison between Voldemort and Hitler.

As far as character deaths go, yes I was sad when characters like Dobby, Fred, Snape, Lupin, and Tonks died, but I'm still glad that Rowling was willing to sacrifice some of her characters because that makes the story more realistic. It is simply inconceivable that a war such as the one presented in Harry Potter could take place, and have not a single good guy die. That just doesn't happen in real life.


End file.
